Courting the Moon
by hinataaura
Summary: Tsuki has many things to overcome in her life now that she's lost her memories but her main problem is that she shares an adjoining bathroom with the villages biggest womanizer, Kakashi Hatake! KakaXOC, SakuXNaru, SasuXHina
1. New

Tsuki winced when she heard someone enter her shared adjoining bathroom. As she quickly muted the music playing softly around her room and dimmed the lights she lamented yet again on her inability to find a better apartment. Her current residence was a small room with a tiny sink and stove separated from the living area by a half wall. The living area consisted of a TV, a couch and an old stereo system (her bed folded out of the couch). It was mostly clean, with the exception of some papers scattered on the floor. She didn't mind the small space; actually she found it rather cozy; however sharing a bathroom with her neighbour was becoming increasingly more difficult.

Her neighbour happened to be none other than the well known Jonin Kakashi Hatake. Why he chose to live in such a place with the money he made she still couldn't figure out. A Jonin made substantially more than a Chunin who never got assignments.

A feminine giggle floated out of the bathroom making her roll her eyes and turn on the TV. Kakashi was a nearly unparalleled womanizer and Tsuki got a very unwilling and unwanted front row seat to his conquests. The days when he was gone on mission with his team were bliss for her.

Technically she was the Hokage's secretary so he should know who she was but there never seemed to be any recognition when he saw her in the hallway and she didn't make any effort to get to know him either. Another giggle and she sighed, turned off the TV and crawled into bed. It was going to be a disgustingly long night.

The next morning was sunny and warm, making Tsuki rejoice as she pulled on her brown leggings and long green skirt. Her top consisted of a protective mesh shirt with a grey silk tank top cover. Regardless of her current status she was a shinobi and she didn't pause as she strapped her weapons holster to her leg. She collected some paperwork and tied her long brown hair into two simple braids before beginning her short walk to the Hokage tower. Everything was almost back to the way it had been before an attack by some unknown group of ninja, much like the old Akatsuki, that had nearly levelled the village that year. Naruto Uzumaki had taken over when the fifth Hokage had been gravely injured and she had recently completely abdicated to him. Although Tsuki was nearly five years older than the young man she had a great respect for him. He had taken her in after the battle when she'd lost her memories. She retained most of her skills but had no memory of who she was before the disaster and any records of her seemed to have been destroyed. She could've been left without any work at all but Naruto made her his secretary and saved her life.

"Good morning little-moon!"

She turned to see her friend Kazuma running towards her and waved.

"Good morning."

"How was the home last night? I heard the neighbour came back yesterday." He slung an arm around her shoulders and pushed a stuffed bun into her hands. "Don't even try to tell me you've already eaten."

Tsuki made a face at him but began to nibble on the bun discovering it was filled with cheese and sausage.

"Thanks Kazuma. Yeah he was back and with another woman." They entered the building and waved to a few people. "It's disgusting."

Kazuma laughed and pulled away from her.

"Agreed but it's a guy thing. I'll see you at lunch."

"Ok see you."

Tsuki plodded up the stairs to the Hokage's office and pushed open the door to see the young leader in a deep kiss with his former team mate and head medic.

"Oh I'm sorry!"

Tsuki covered her face as a deep blush crawled across it. She heard a laugh and looked up into Sakura's smiling face and Naruto's blush.

"We've shocked poor Tsuki I'm afraid." Sakura giggled and kissed Naruto's cheek before hugging Tsuki and laughing merrily. "Guess what!?"

The stunned secretary just stared at the pink haired kunoichi.

"What?" It was then she noticed the ring on Sakura's finger. "Oh my goodness, you're getting married?!" Tsuki looked incredulously from Sakura to Naruto, a huge grin spreading across her face at her bosses embarrassment.

"Yes!" Sakura hugged her again. "Oh, I'm so happy!"

"Congradulations!"

"Thanks. But I really must run, I have another shift at the hospital." Sakura kissed Naruto again and ran out of the room, leaving behind a stunned Naruto and a giggling Tsuki.

"Congrats. Hokage-sama." Tsuki gave him a mock reproachful look. "I only wish you had told me so I could begin to plan around the wedding." She straightened his robe smartly and went to her desk to begin the day's paperwork.

"Oh please don't be mad Tsuki! I wanted to tell you but I didn't want to risk Sakura finding out! I didn't even tell Sasuke in case he let it slip to Hinata."

Naruto still looked very flustered and Tsuki took pity on him.

"I was kidding Hokage-sama. I can arrange all your work around it easily. When do you want the ceremony and the honeymoon?" He gave her a pained expression and she smothered a giggle. "I'll talk to Sakura-san about it later then."

Naruto nodded and after Tsuki gently reminded him of his morning appointments he made his way out of the office. The rest of the morning was uneventful and Tsuki was more than ready for her break when it came around. After dropping a note on Naruto's desk she trotted down the stairs, humming happily. Unfortunatly she only made it about halfway before her sandal slipped off the edge of a stair and she found herself tumbling forward into a large, warm, solid object which she quickly realized must be a person. A long arm caught her around the waist and propped her back up on the nearest stair.

"Thank you..." She bit back a gasp as she looked up into a single dark eye.

"Not a problem. It would be a terrible shame to see such a pretty young thing get hurt."

Kakashi's eye twinkled at her over his mask. However, the voice and words that made most girls' blush and stammer just made Tsuki cringed and roll her eyes, leaving him rather startled.

"Tsuki! Are you ok? Oh hello..." Kazuma bowed a little in Kakashi's direction before examining Tsuki. "I was on my way to meet you. Are you hurt?"

She laughed and reassured her friend that she was fine before turning and bowing to a still ruffled Kakashi.

"Thank you very much Hatake-san. Are you on your way to see Hokage-sama, because I'm afraid he's not in at the moment? However if you leave a message with me I will make sure he gets it as soon as possible."

Both the men stared at her as she fixed her most professional smile on her face.

"Tsuki...Naruto's secretary Tsuki?" Kakashi seemed stunned that such a girl could work for his former student. "Umm no that's fine. I'll be seeing him at the benefit later." The Jonin took one more puzzled glance at Tsuki and noted how Kazuma glared at him before he waved and strolled off, hands in his pockets.

"Wow! Tsuki that was amazing! Although I guess knowing what he really like helps so he can't pull that stuff on you too."

"Hmm, oh yeah." Tsuki smiled up at Kazuma who took her arm and lead her down the rest of the stairs, still chattering. Of course she thought, she would never fall for Kakashi's tricks and yet, she could still feel the warmth of his arm around her waist. She continued to muse to herself until a question from Kazuma shook her out of her thoughts.

"Are you going to the benefit tonight?"

"What? Oh yeah. Hokage-sama has a few important guests to meet and has asked me to assist him. Of course I won't be staying long. But at least I get to wear a pretty dress."

She laughed and poked at the food in her bento. She was actually very much looking forward to wearing the dark purple gown she'd found for herself, it made her dull blue-grey eyes look brighter and complimented what little shape her 5 foot 4 body had.

"Aww. Now I'm sad to missing that." Kazuma pouted.

"Don't worry I'll be sure to talk at least one picture." Tsuki continued to jokingly console him until their break ended and they both headed off to work.

The afternoon passed in a flash and soon Naruto was telling her to take some time to get ready for the benefit. She happily reminded him that his tux was in the second closet and yes he must wear it, if only to look good for his new finance.

Tsuki hummed to herself while she bathed and dressed. She applied a little make-up before looking at her full appearance in a mirror. Usually she made a point of not worrying about her looks, simply accepting them as they were instead of worrying about if she was considered pretty or not. Now however, she had to admit that she felt particularly feminine in the long silk gown with her hair lightly pinned back in front and cascading in loose curls down her back. The light purple eye shadow made her now blue-green eyes and long dark lashed stand out and her cheeks and lips were a pale pink. So, feeling confident she made her way across the village to the benefit.

The Hyuuga estate was so brightly lit Tsuki had to wonder what their neighbours must think of the extravagance. Every powerful shinobi and business person in Konoha was at the event, making it quite the relay for Tsuki so she was happy when Naruto finished his important business and went off to socialize and celebrate his engagement. She briefly considered leaving right away but treated herself to a few things at the desert table first and soon found herself chatting with the youngest Uchiha child.

The girl's mother came by to apologize but Tsuki just laughed and waved off Hinata's worries, helping the expecting mother of three find a seat and telling the little girl a story until Sasuke came back from congratulating Naruto and thanked her for looking after his family.

Just as she was about to call it a night and get her coat she felt the tingle of her space being invaded and a hand touched her arm.

"Yes?" She turned, expecting to see Naruto or someone looking for him and instead found a certain silver-haired shinobi.

"Yo."

All Tsuki could do was blink and stare.

"Tsuki right? It feels like I've seen you somewhere before ..." That definitely snapped her out of her shock.

"You have actually Hatake-san. We have adjoining rooms in Willow apartments." Her voice was level and matter of fact but inside she was seething. It was so typical that he couldn't be bothered to remember a woman who didn't warm his bed.

"I would stay and chat, however I was just leaving. Good night Hatake-san." With that she stormed off to get her coat but when she stepped out into the cool night air she found herself face to face with the copy-nin yet again. He bowed and she thought she saw something like guilt in his lone eye but when he rose it was replaced with his same winsome look.

"Please Tsuki-san, let me walk you home."

"Umm no." She was far too upset to trust herself on the rather long walk back. However as she walked away she noticed calmly that he followed her.

"We live in the same building. So technically I'm not following you."

Tsuki jumped and turned around, gaping at him.

"Did you just read my mind?"

"Oh good, you stopped." He caught up to her effortlessly and she could almost feel his mischievous grin on her from behind his mask. "You know, it really isn't safe for a woman to walk on her own at night. There could be all sorts of dangerous men about."

"I can protect myself." She paused. "Thanks."

She continued walking but this time he kept up with her easily. The rest of the way back was filled with him trying to get her to talk while she politely but firmly kept him at bay until they reached her door.

"Good night Hatake-san." Before he could say another word she entered her room and closed the door in his face. Kakashi paused briefly before he raised and hand to knock when he heard a sharp "Don't!" from the other side. He chuckled and returned to his room alone for the first time in quite awhile.

For the next week Tsuki found Kakashi outside her room every morning and outside Naruto's office every evening. These were never long meeting as he always managed to disappear before Kazuma showed up but they confused her to no end. He always simply chatted to her about something silly like the weather or Naruto's exploits as a young Genin while she treated him with aloof politeness and at times borderline hostility. Kakashi never knock on her door or asked her to go anywhere with him, he was just a constant presence that she was having more and more trouble finding annoying.

Sunday she had a day off and she slept in late. It didn't bother her at all to wake up near 2:00 and cook a light breakfast before considering taking a nice bubble bath. She crept quietly into the bathroom and lock the adjoining door before climbing into the steaming tub of water and relaxing. She had almost dozed off again when she heard a knock on her room door.

Tsuki sighed and wrapped herself in a towel before unlocking Kakashi's door and going back into her room. The knock on her door came again.

"Just a minute!" Wondering who could possibly want to talk at this time on a Sunday she threw on a pair of dark blue sweats and a grey tank and opened the door.

"Hi!" To Tsuki's astonishment she found Sakura, Ten-Ten and Ino standing outside her room looking very pleased with themselves.

"Come on, we are going dancing." Tsuki stared at them.

"Excuse me?"

"We are go-ing to a cl-ub." Ino giggled. "Come on, even Naruto's overly serious secretary must have a fun side."

"Don't be mean Ino." Ten-Ten smiled at Tsuki. "It'll be fun. Trust me!"

"B-but I don't have anything to wear!"

Sakura laughed.

"That's why we got here so early. We have to get ready too." They trotted into her room, wach dragging a suitcase. Two hours later found Tsuki in a dark blue skirt that just brushed her knees, a tight brown tank top edged with lace covered by a loose silky grey top that hung down in the front, revealing the brown tank and her cleavage. She strapped on a pair of grey sandals that wound a short way up her leg. Ino helped her braid her hair into two loose lengths on either side of her head. The others were dressed in slightly more revealing outfits, Ino's artfully tattered green dress only covered the most private sections of her body and made Tsuki shudder just to imagine wearing it.

"Alright ladies. Let's hit the town."

They set off giggling and easily slipped into the nearest club where Sakura and Ino immediately took off to the dance floor while Ten-Ten and Tsuki went and sat at a table near the bar.

"How come none of the boys came out?" Tsuki knew that Sakura usually couldn't get rid of Naruto and Ino was rarely seen without Shikamaru. Ten-Ten shrugged.

"Neji is at Hinata's for dinner, he just can't pull himself away from those little kids..." Ten-Ten wouldn't look at her and Tsuki reasoned the two had probably had another fight so she let the subject drop.

"Tsuki get over here!" Sakura was waving and shouting across the floor but Tsuki just shook her head and laughed. She glanced around the club, barely recognizing a single person until her eyes found a certain silver haired shinobi.

He was over at a far table flirting very openly with a very voluptuous red head. For some reason, instead of her usual disgusted annoyance she felt an almost stabbing pain in her chest. No way, she shook her head, there was no way she was hurt or jealous because of him. For a second she thought their eyes met but she turned away quickly and tapped Ten-Ten on the shoulder.

"I'm going to get a drink, do you want something?"

The other girl just nodded so Tsuki headed to the bar.

"Two bottles of sake and a shot of whiskey please." The bartender nodded and Tsuki drank the shot before heading back with the bottles. Around 4 bottles later and both the shyer girls in the group were up dancing with Sakura and Ino.

"Bai bai!" Tsuki giggled drunkenly and waved to the others as they staggered off in the opposite direction. She turned around and began walking back towards her apartment. Turning into a side street she kicked a can a little ways down the alley.

"Stupid Kakashi...he thinks he's soooo special." A strong wave of nausea hit her and she had to lean against a wall for a moment. "Woah...haha that doesn't feel good."

"I can help you feel better, sexy." Tsuki turned around quickly, holding her head, and found three fair sized men at the end of the road coming towards her. "How about you play with us for a bit?"

"Yeah right." She glared at them and pushed herself off the wall. "Don't even try anything or i'll..."

She gasped when someone grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall again. Her head collided with brick as she blacked out.


	2. Crescent

~~Ok because I forgot on my first chapter and I'm too lazy to go back and do it. NARUTO DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. If it did it would be much more shoujo and Kakashi would show us what's under his mask. jk We love the mystery. Please enjoy and comment. ^.^

Kakashi was having a good night. He'd decided to go out because he'd been avoiding his usual haunts for a week and his break from missions was almost up. In no time at all he had company at his table and soon was working on a red-head to bring back to his apartment. Everything was going well until he caught a glimpse of Tsuki across the room. She saw staring straight at him and even though she looked away quickly he caught the look of pain and confusion on her face. For a moment he almost felt happy, so maybe she was more interested in him then she let on, but that feeling was immediately replaced with a strong sense of guilt. He'd been trying to catch her attention romantically for the past few days but he didn't think it was working. She always treated him with polite disdain and pushed aside even his more subtle advances.

He told himself to ignore Tsuki, to focus on the girl next to him who was definitely interested instead of the one who wasn't at all but as Tsuki continued to drink more and more she ended up on the dance floor being watched by a seedy looking group of men. By the time the girls were leaving he had completely lost the red-headed woman and focused entirely on Tsuki. He slipped out of the club behind her and watched with concern as she turned away from the others and continued to walk on her own. She was staggering down an alley and talking nonsense to herself but he was startled to hear his name in her ramblings. She was clearly upset with him but bizarrely that made him a little happy. Feelings that confused him and made him wonder how she actually felt earlier when she'd seen him across the room.

His concern for her quickly turned to anger as four men he'd noticed watching her in the club cornered her. Her predicament left him torn, he wanted to jump in and help her but then she would know he was stalking her. Before he'd finished wrestling with his own conscience one of the men, who'd gone behind her while she was distracted by his friends pushed her up against a wall, knocking her out.

"Bad move." Kakashi jumped down from his perch on a nearby rooftop and kicked the guy holding Tsuki, hard. The man flew across the alleyway and smashed into a building, he didn't move again.

"Now, you all should be thinking if you really..." One of the unconscious men's friends took a shot at his head which he dodged easily. "Alright, bad move number 2."

It took him less than a minute to deal with the three and once they were all unconscious or run off he picked up Tsuki's limp body with a sigh.

"You can take care of yourself huh?"

The next morning found Tsuki waking up with the headache to end all headaches. Tsuki stood shakily and briefly noted that she was in her pyjamas before she was hit by a wave of nausea and ran to the bathroom. As she was retching into the toilet she felt a cool hand on her forehead, pulling her hair back and helping her stand.

"Shouldn't you be with your red-head?" She pulled away from Kakashi's arms and wobbled her way towards her room. Unfortunately she didn't even make it halfway before her legs started to fold underneath her.

"Whoa!" Kakashi caught her carefully but she tried to push him away again.

"I can take care of myself, don't touch me."

"Fine!" He let her go and she promptly fell down.

"Ow..." She moaned and pulled herself into a sitting position, holder her head.

Watching her Kakashi had to laugh inwardly; she was pretty cute in her own stubborn way. He sat next to her in an almost cat-like way that Tsuki realized with annoyance was a lot more graceful than her own drop to the ground.

"Was it you?" She asked, avoiding looking at him, trying to focus on not throwing up again.

"Who got you drunk? Nope, you did that one yourself." The sing song tone of his voice sent a flash of irritation through her.

"I meant was it you who brought me home last night? and.." She blushed lightly and immediately felt appalled; surely she wasn't shy because of him! That would be a disastrous development.

"And...?" Kakashi prompted.

"Nevermind!" Was it you or not!?" The yelling made her head pound and she whimpered, holding the bump that the brick wall had left her gingerly. There was movement next to her and a sigh before a large hand with a couple pills and moments later a glass of water appeared in her vision.

"Take this, it will make most of the pain go away. Trust me."

Tsuki swallowed the pills with a gulp of water and held the glass firmly in both hands in front of her face, not trusting herself to not drop it.

"Thanks...you still haven't answered my question though."

She wondered if he was avoiding the question because he was embarrassed or because he hadn't actually helped her.

"What if I told you it was me, what then?" Feeling his body heat return to her side told her he'd sat back down but she kept her eyes glued to the sparkles in the glass of water.

"Thanks. I mean for saving me." A deeper blush crept across her cheeks but she chose to not say anything about being in different clothes. She didn't want to start having images of him taking her clothes off, and something about her being unconscious at the time just made it worse.

"You're welcome. Drink that up and you should probably sleep some more." Kakashi stood. "I'll tell Naruto what's happened."

Tsuki felt a hand ruffle her hair and he left. Staring at the door after he she tried to get her mind to sort out all his actions towards her. Sometimes he seemed to be pursuing her and now he was treating her like a child who had acted out and gotten in trouble.

'_Men are fucking ridiculous.'_

She gulped down the last of the water, tottered into her room, and placed the glass on her bedside table and fell asleep again, dreaming of tall masked men with silver hair.

Kakashi listened to her leave the bathroom and bereted himself inwardly. Normally he would play the gallant knight and use his rescue of the _princess_ to his advantage but instead he'd found himself feeling embarrassed. He didn't want to take advantage of Tsuki at all. He wanted to take care of her, to hold her gently until the pain left her and watch over her wherever she went just to see her smile. It ran much deeper than his feelings for his usual conquests and even stronger than his bond with his teammates, and it scared him.

"Damn this is bad." Kakashi put his head in his hands. "I refuse to fall in love with her. I will not fall in love again."


	3. Waning

~~Alright, chapter 3. Hope it didn't go in a totally strange direction. Please don't get too upset over Kakashi's outfit when he answers the door, it looks not lame in my head. I just needed something to put Tsuki off guard and Kakashi shirtless would certainly mess with my head. Next chapter might have some juicy description of his body...if I don't die from Nanowrimo and school first.

Comments are loved and encourage further chapters to come faster ^.^~~

For the next two weeks Tsuki didn't hear from or see Kakashi once. She knew he was still in the village because every so often she heard sound coming from his room or the bathroom and she hadn't processed any paperwork of him leaving on a mission. For some reason it bothered her that he wasn't around and the fact that it bothered her upset her even more.

"It's impossible! I can't actually be missing him!" She exclaimed to Kazuma over coffee one day. "I mean I only really had anything to do with him once." (She'd decided telling Kazuma about Kakashi saving her would be a bad idea.)

Kazuma just watched her go over her own emotions in her head for awhile, inwardly chuckling at her ever changing facial expressions. Finally he smiled nonchalantly.

"Have you tried finding him?" His question made her jump and give him an incredulously puzzled look. "Now hear me out before you make that face, what if you're still mad that he didn't know who you were and you just need to confront him about it?"

Tsuki mulled that over for a minute. It was true that him not recognizing her at the benefit had upset her and all his actions sense then didn't make much sense.

"Maybe you're right...maybe I just need to confront him. I mean it doesn't mean I like him. I'm just upset and need to clear the air." She smiled across the table at Kazuma who gave her a startled look that she didn't notice. She felt as though a weight had been lifted. It wasn't until later when she was sitting in her room, listening for evidence that Kakashi was home that Tsuki started to get nervous.

'_Maybe I'm just confused. I mean I don't really feel that upset with him about not knowing me anymore. Ugh. I'm over thinking this...'_

Just then she head some music come from next door causing her to fall, both out of her thoughts and off her couch. While she tried to sooth her smarting nerves and tailbone she mentally argued all the reasons for her not to go next door. In the end though her stubborn curiosity won out over her more practical side and she found herself standing outside Kakashi's door.

'_I can do this.'_

Kakashi answered fairly quickly after her first knock, unfortunately for Tsuki's newly developed courage he was only wearing a loose pair of sweatpants, his headband and a mask covering his lower face...leaving more than enough of his muscled torso for her carefully avoided inspection.

"Oh hey neighbour. Are we sober today?"

'_Never mind.'_ Tsuki clenched her fists and turned back towards her room.

"Wait!" He laughed and her traitorous body stopped of its own accord. "Sorry, I was just kidding. Come in?" He stepped back and gestured for her to enter his room.

While her mind debated with itself again Tsuki walked into his apartment, nearly comatose with nerves until she actually looked around. For some reason it surprised her that his place wasn't immaculately clean. He'd always struck her as the type to be OCD about neatness, even with his apparent laziness. But maybe she'd only developed that impression because of his womanizing ways. Somehow she doubted this was the room he showed the women he planned to sleep with; it was hard to picture this impressing anyone, especially a woman. Of course it wasn't a complete mess or anything, it actually reminded her a bit of her own room, with kunai, scrolls and what looked like a few perverted books in the place of her scattered paper work, and an actual bed. Shockingly empty really.

"So to what do I owe this pleasure?" His casual demeanour and joking tone made her tense with annoyance. "Please, have a seat, make yourself at home." He ducked into his kitchen with a dark inward chuckle just as Tsuki noticed that the only place to sit was the bed.

Blushing she clenched her fists and forced herself to keep an even tone even as she gritted her teeth.

"No thanks, I'm just here for a short visit. I ummm wanted to thank you properly for helping me the other morning."

He came back out of the kitchen with one curiously raised eyebrow.

"That was weeks ago and you thanked me already." Kakashi's voice seemed mocking in Tsuki's ears and made her snap a little in her attempts to keep calm.

"W-well I just wanted to make sure you know umm..."

She trailed off as he sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her in a way that made her shift uncomfortably.

"Curious..." Kakashi mused almost to himself though his gaze was still on her.

"What is?"

"Well you practically avoid me until now and then here you are, knocking on my door to thank me for something that happened long enough ago it's irrelevant now. So I'm curious...why are you really here?"

With that the last bits of Tsuki's self control evaporated. Just as she opened her mouth she wondered where her calm, cool side had disappeared too. Of all the people in the village Kakashi was the only one who annoyed her enough to make her lose it.

"Me!? Avoid you? You didn't even know who I was and we've been neighbours for almost half a year! We share a bathroom for crying out loud! Are you aware that I can hear when you bring your stupid conquests home EVERY NIGHT!" She couldn't stop all the frustrations that were pouring out.

'_Craaap..._'

"I didn't even have to avoid you! I was invisible to you until for some strange reason someone or something out there cursed me and not only did I fall down the stairs but you started following me! You practically stalked me after that night at the benefit. And then just when I started to think maybe you were sort of a decent person you were after some other girl!"

At that Kakashi tilted his head and raised his eyebrow again. Tsuki noticed and thought about what she'd just said.

'_Oh no!'_

"So does that mean you were...jealous?" His voice was completely calm as he took in her reddening face, teary eyes and clenched fists.

"NO! Of course it doesn't mean that! Stupid Kakashi...why would I be jealous of those girls? They clearly have no self-respect, having a one night stand with you! I would never fall for such a self centered womanizer!"

By this point she'd pretty much run out of steam and was starting to collect her rational thoughts again and was horrified with herself and the smirk she couldn't see but could feel spreading across Kakashi's face.

"I'm self centered huh? Don't you think it was kind of presumptuous to think I was stalking you? I mean you're sorta pretty but not really my type."

Tsuki's eyes widened and she could feel herself holding back tears. His comment stung in places she'd forgotten to think about. Though it wasn't entirely unjustified, she had attacked first after all, but she couldn't even bring herself to look at him.

"Well that's good then because I would have to lose all faith in my character and how people see me if I had attracted someone like you."

Her voice was soft and then instead of storming out of the room she simply walked to the door and let herself out. The door clicked shut on Kakashi's deeply troubled face that Tsuki's tear filled eyes didn't see.

Almost 4 months passed and in that time Tsuki found a new place to live, moving out as soon as she possibly could. She saw Kakashi around the village every so often but now she did actually avoid the copy ninja as he had accused her of before. Kazuma worried for his friend who was slowly pulling into herself although he had no idea what happened and had been completely shocked at her move. He secretly suspected it had something to do with Kakashi but never mentioned this to Tsuki. She rarely left her new apartment, throwing all her energy into work. Even Naruto noticed, although her work was impeccable she never joked with him anymore and as winter passed and spring began to warm the village only Tsuki's thick and covering clothes never changed.

During this time Naruto and Sakura's wedding preparations were entering the final stage, so when Sakura turned up at Tsuki's door looking frazzled the secretary smiled comfortingly and invited her in.

"Do you need to view some of the plans? I have all the papers right here." Tsuki opened a drawer in the new desk she'd bought to keep organized and Sakura noted how the other girl's room was much tidier and colder then before.

"Actually no." Sakura looked shy and...

'_Did she just fidget?'_ Tsuki's eyes widened, she couldn't remember a time that she'd ever seen the confident pink-haired girl look this awkward.

"I need to ask you for a big favour Tsuki."

"Sure, anything I can do to help."

"Can you be one of my bridesmaids?"

The Hokage's secretary was shocked and Sakura looked at her wide eyes worriedly.

"You don't have to of course, I'm not asking because you're Naruto's secretary but because I consider you a friend."

"But but...Ino, Hinata, Ten-Ten...I mean I'd love to of course but the plans..."

Sakura smiled and hugged Tsuki, surprising the poor already shell-shocked girl even more.

"Don't worry about it; the plans are all fine still. It's just that Hinata can't leave the baby and she's a bit anaemic lately. So we're moving Ino up to come down the aisle first with Sasuke. She did really want to be my maid of honour but thought she wouldn't know what to do so Hinata took the job but Hinata talked her through it and she's super excited."

Suddenly Tsuki's smile and excitement faded and all the colour drained from her face. She was doing the calculations in her head and not likely the answer.

"Temari-san...?" It almost wasn't a question; she knew what Sakura was going to say.

"She's still walking with Shikamaru." The pink haired girl's smile went straight through Tsuki's faltering heart. "You'll be coming down the aisle with Kakashi-sensei."


	4. Quarter

~~Alright, chapter 4. I originally meant for this chapter to be longer so I could finish the wedding arc but I need to start a new chapter for my sanity...and the feeling of actually accomplishing something. Hope you enjoy!

Comments are loved and encourage further chapters to come faster ^.^~~

"What would you do if someone was avoiding you?" Kakashi's question made Naruto pause as he devoured some ramen. Just because the young man had become the Hokage didn't mean his tastes had changed.

"Someone's avoiding you Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hypothetically speaking."

'_Why am I even talking to Naruto about this?'_ Kakashi sighed and Naruto looked puzzled for a moment but his face soon changed into his classic determined grin.

"I'd track them down and demand to know why!"

'_Of course...I knew this was a bad idea.'_

"Does this have something to do with my secretary?" Naruto's face was completely serious. "Because I know she used to live next to you and suddenly moved out. And she's been weird ever since."

Kakashi did his best to not look alarmed at his old student's sudden comment.

"Now is not the time to become perceptive Naruto." He expected that Naruto would just give up when Kakashi didn't answer the question but for some reason the blonde boy was especially persistent today.

"I know what you're like Kakashi. Did you try to sleep with her? She is probably too shy to face you now."

"Eat your ramen Naruto. And I doubt that's it...not that it's any of your business. Kakashi paused and a sudden thought occurred to him; which made him marvel at the fact the one of Naruto's comments and given him an idea. '_Will wonders never cease?'_ "Did you tell her you were going out for lunch today?"

"Yeah."

"With me?"

"Of course."

'_Damn._'

Kakashi had been hoping to "accidently" run into Tsuki after lunch but if she knew he was out with Naruto she most likely wouldn't be there when Naruto got back. The copy nin had been wondering what to do since Tsuki had moved out. He'd debated for awhile about going to apologize to Tsuki after their fight but by the time he'd thought out what to say she'd moved out and started completely avoiding him.

"You've never worried about a girl avoiding you before Kakashi-sensei, what happened?" But Kakashi refused to tell his former student what had happened and left the shop soon after. He was wandering around, thinking about his next mission and Naruto's upcoming wedding when he ran into Sakura.

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei!" The young woman almost glowed and had clearly just been discussing her wedding.

"Yo, Sakura-chan, you look excited. I was actually just thinking about your wedding and me walking with Ino..." Sakura cut him off with an excited.

"Oh right! I forgot to tell you!"

"Umm forgot to tell me what?" He felt a little nervous; the whole wedding was a huge social event, the type of thing he normally tried to avoid.

"Hinata isn't feeling well these days and she needs to be with the new baby so we had to re-organize the wedding party."

"Oh?" He was only mildly interested in being in the wedding party at all but Naruto had insisted.

"I've asked Tsuki and she said she'd be my replacement bridesmaid so you'll be walking with her." At that Kakashi perked up a little.

"She agreed to that?"

"Of course, although she did seem shocked when I said it was you she'd be with but it's all worked out and everything is okay."

'_Ah so she didn't find out until she'd already agreed.'_ Sakura ran off, saying something about the hospital and her last shift leaving Kakashi to wonder about the impending three days of discomfort.

Two days after Kakashi and Tsuki found out about their fate they both entered one of Konoha's finest tailors very apprehensively. The whole wedding party was there for the final fittings and to discuss the final preparations before the rehearsal the next day. Tsuki saw Kakashi immediately and shifted uncomfortably next to Ten-Ten who gave her a warm smile.

"Don't worry; the bridesmaid dresses really aren't that bad. They don't suit everyone because of the color but they are simple and cute."

'_How I look in the dress is the least of my problems.'_ Tsuki's thoughts were far from the clothing but she smiled politely and tried to keep to the conversation until tailors came to take the men and women to separate dressing rooms.

"Have you talked to Tsuki yet?" Naruto's question startled Kakashi who had been briefly debating trying to peek in the woman's fitting room. The tux fitting had been quick and they were all changing back into their original clothes, joking about the long wait for the women.

"No, we're just walking down the aisle together, it's no big deal." With that Kakashi pushed back out into the lobby and took up a casual position just outside the female side of the store seated by a big window and reading his favourite perverted novel.

Naruto shook his head. "I didn't know better that would've sounded like those two are getting married."

"Ino stop it!" All the men in the lobby turned with surprise towards the woman's changing room. "They'll see at the wedding! Hey!" Then Ten-Ten's voice could be heard.

"Ino leave her alone, she might die of embarrassment if you push her out there!" With that it fell silent.

"Umm what just happened?" All the young men looked at Kakashi who simply shrugged.

"Ask Neji."

But the Byakugan user just raised his hands and shook his head. "Just because I can doesn't mean I will!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and Kakashi made a mental note to never agree to this kind of thing again as Naruto badgered Neji ceaselessly to spy on the women. Finally Sasuke shut him up by reminding the yellow haired boy that his future wife could punch him through a wall if she discovered he'd asked Neji to peek on her and her friends. Eventually the women came out and they all separated quickly, leaving Kakashi and Tsuki standing awkwardly outside.

"Well, see you tomorrow." Tsuki turned and walked off as quickly as she could. Kakashi sighed, stuffed his hands in his pockets and caught up to her. "Are you following me?" Her tone made him grin.

"It seems like you're still upset with me."

"No really? How did you come up with that idea?" They both knew her sarcasm was only a cover for her clinging, whispering insecurities but only Tsuki could feel the increased pounding of her heart.

"Oh...I don't know, maybe your angry stride and biting tone of voice." He just couldn't help himself, it was just too much fun to bug her and watch all the emotions she tried to withhold flicker through her eyes and over her face.

"Well why don't you leave me alone then? We can suffer through these next two days and go back to not having to deal with each other." Tsuki just kept her eyes focused on her path and brushed her hair over her shoulder. Kakashi saw the gesture which seemed more like habit then nerves and noticed that she'd allowed it to grow almost three inches longer.

"Go back to you avoiding me you mean?" He didn't expect her to stop suddenly and had to turn back to see her face smooth into a polite but emotionless smile.

"Don't flatter yourself Hatake-san. Goodbye." With that she entered the apartment building next to her and hurried up the stairs.

"Bye." He waited a few moments before smiling to himself and mentally noting the building. "See you tomorrow."

Thinking she'd rather be exfoliating with a cheese grater Tsuki slipped into a simple dress that the store owner had informed her was not blue it was "Cumulus, like the cloud." Which basically meant that it was a light blue-grey that made her eyes look much darker than usual. It had thin straps but gauze like sections were attached that connected to her wrists delicately, giving the illusion of sleeves. She curled her hair so it fell in gentle ringlets to below her shoulders and pinned the front back loosely behind her head with a little jewelled clip she'd found in a thrift store. The thought that it might be useful one day was now proving true. As she looked herself over and applied a little makeup she shuddered for the third time in an hour. It was beyond her how she was going to survive the rehearsal dinner tonight and the marathon of a wedding the next day. Bad enough she had to dress up and smile for people she didn't know but to do it with Kakashi...

'_I might as well cut my own arms off, it might be more fun.' _She glanced at the clock and realized she was going to be late if she didn't leave now. With a cursory glance around the room she found and grabbed her purse before managing to catch an empty elevator down. It was always a toss up if your elevator ride would be pleasant in this building and more often then not she ended up with creepy Mr. Tachibana or the perpetually wailing family of 8 from down the hall. However, her happiness at the solitude was short lived.

"Yo." The familiar greet very nearly made her heart stop.

"What are you doing here!?" Tsuki almost forgot to step off the elevator and had to catch the door as it closed, all the while staring at the man in front of her. Kakashi was wearing a simple white collared shirt and dress pants with his headband and customary mask but what caught Tsuki's attention was his lack of a tie and several open buttons.

"I just figured that we could walk together to the estate considering how we are stuck with each other for almost the entire next twenty four hours." It was obvious that he was very pleased with himself for catching her off guard.

"This is in the opposite direction!" Far from looking contrite or mischievous Kakashi simply shrugged, make her gape at him before regaining her composure. "You're not actually going dressed like that are you?" She pointed to his unbuttoned shirt and tried to no look at the glimpse of scarred, muscled chest that showed through.

"Well I suppose I have to confess." He paused and revealed a dark green tie dangling from one hand. "I was hoping that you would help me." By this point other people in the lobby had begun to stare and Tsuki realized she was blocking the elevator.

"Ugh, follow me." She stomped past him and out the door not actually bothering to check if he followed but when she turned around her was shockingly close to her. "Are you really telling me that you of all people can't tie a necktie?"

"Yes."

"Liar!"

"Prove it."

Tsuki chewed her lip for a moment. She didn't want to be any closer to him, his bare skin and close proximity was already making her feel strange and she didn't believe for a second that he was telling the truth. Unfortunately her practical secretary side took over and she snatched the offending piece of cloth out of his hand and began tying it with deft fingers.

"Please don't choke me. I like your perfume."

"Shut up."

When she finished she turned around and started walking towards the Uchiha estate. Kakashi followed, inspecting her perfect job with a secret grin.

"Tsuki! Kakashi-sensei! Come on, we've gotta start the run through...I think Naruto is getting hungry." Sakura was aglow and Tsuki felt stunned as she took in the bride's rust coloured gown. It made her hair seem lighter and was dotted with embroidered cherry blossom petals that looked as though they had been blown straight off a tree to compliment the fabric.

"Wow, Sakura you look beautiful." Tsuki gave her a big hug and waved to the other girls who were sitting with their partners near the back of the main ballroom. The next hour and a half was spent figuring out how to get little Shuri and Wataru Uchiha to walk straight down the aisle. After they finally finished the walk through they sat down for dinner and Tsuki discovered she was stuck next to Kakashi, of course.

"You're not eating much...should you be drinking on such an empty stomach?" Tsuki winced and glared at Kakashi.

"It's water!"

"Hey you talked to me." He smiled at her sweetly and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm out of here the second I can leave. Just...quit acting so nice." She couldn't seem to stomach the rich food being catered and this felt so much like the real wedding she wondered how horrible the next day would be. Her hand shook as she gulped down more water and waited for Sakura's mom to finally finish her twenty minute speech which she promised was just a short version of the one she'd prepared for the next day.

"Your hostility is a little unnecessary don't you think? I mean what did I do to you!?" Tsuki stared at him for a couple seconds before turning away and shaking her head. A few minutes later she turned back around and he honestly thought she was going to scream at him.

"I can't believe I even thought for a moment you were something of a decent guy. 'Kinda pretty' and you acted like it was my fault for thinking you were interested! My fault! When you almost threw yourself at me." She kept her voice low but he could tell she was far beyond annoyed.

"You started it. Yelling at me and attacking me in my own home."

"So you decided to finish it? And nothing I said was untrue. Nothing." At that moment Sakura's mom finally sat down and Naruto announced that the dinner was over. Tsuki stood quickly and avoided looking at Kakashi, hoping that she'd finally made her point and he would leave her alone but by the time she finished saying goodnight to the others he was standing by the door with a look that told her he was waiting for her.

"Go away." She pushed past him roughly while he just casually followed her. "You're like some stalker! Why won't you just leave me alone!?" The street around them was completely empty and suddenly Tsuki felt a complete sense of exhaustion overwhelm her. "Has it ever occurred to you that you should just accept that I don't like you?" It was beyond her why the man didn't just give up. She was giving him no indication that she was going to change her mind and he certainly wasn't looking to apologize. There was no way to lose him on the walk back so she didn't bother trying. He was strangely silent all the way which put her even more on edge, she was so used to his constant chatter and annoyingly happy attitude. By the time they'd reached her apartment she had no idea what he was thinking.

"Anyway, goodnight." As she stepped up the front stairs she felt him grab her arm. It wasn't a forceful movement but his intentions were clear and she stopped. She didn't turn and tried to fix a bland expression on her face with little success.

"I think you're lying to yourself." Tsuki couldn't believe her ears and was just starting to form an angry response when he continued. "You're not actually mad at me, you're mad at yourself for falling for me." At that she spun, considered slapping him, decided not to and instead jerked him arm away.

"You are wrong on so many levels. I couldn't fall for such an arrogant, obnoxious little man!"

"Little? Now I can't remember an occasion that you would have found out whether that is true or not." Even though his words were joking his visible eye didn't smile at all and caught her own with an intensity that burned all her anger away and made her feel water building in her eyes. While she stood in shock he leaned forward, brushed a hand over her cheek and pressed his clothed lips to hers. The contact was so brief she couldn't remember how it felt the next second but the action was still in her mind. His face so close to hers the light tingle his hand had left behind on her skin.

"Think about it." He whispered so close to her ear she finally moved with a startled jump but the next moment he was strolling off down the street with his hands in his pockets.


	5. Half

~~Alright, chapter 5. Life is sooooo busy with school right now that I just couldn't spend a ton of time on this but I'm going to post this and hopefully finish the next chapter before I start scriptfrenzy next month. Wish me luck!

Comments are loved and encourage further chapters to come faster ^.^~~

_"You are wrong on so many levels. I couldn't fall for such an arrogant, obnoxious little man!"_

"_Little? Now I can't remember an occasion that you would have found out whether that is true or not." Even though his words were joking his visible eye didn't smile at all and caught her own with an intensity that burned all her anger away and made her feel water building in her eyes. While she stood in shock he leaned forward, brushed a hand over her cheek and pressed his clothed lips to hers. The contact was so brief she couldn't remember how it felt the next second but the action was still in her mind. His face so close to hers the light tingle his hand had left behind on her skin._

"_Think about it." He whispered so close to her ear she finally moved with a startled jump but the next moment he was strolling off down the street with his hands in his pockets._

Tsuki fell out of bed the next morning with a solid and reassuring thump. She patted the ground beneath her wearily and hauled her body into a sitting position. Every time she had neared sleep the feeling of Kakashi's face near her own would come back and she would sit up with a start. It made for a night seriously lacking in rest. With an exhausted groan she stood up and tottered into the bathroom for a nice warm shower, but after almost braining herself by falling asleep and tipping into the wall she quickly made it a cold shower. She thought she heard a knock on her door and was about to shut the water off when she realized it was probably the neighbours door, when the sound didn't come again she shrugged and continued trying to shave without taking off any layers of skin. Finally, after conditioning her hair for the third time by accident she shut the water off and stepped out, reaching for her towel. It wasn't on the hook but it turned up in front of her face attached to a rather large hand. Upon following the hand up the adjoining arm she blinked at its owner before shrieking, falling backwards, grabbing the towel and consequently arm in an attempt to stay upright and tumbling into her bathtub. Unfortunately he fell right on top of her.

"Are you crazy!? What are you doing here!?" Her voice echoed off the walls and she flinched hoping that she wouldn't get complaints from her neighbours.

"If that's the way you're going to greet me every time we see each other it's very upsetting," Kakashi said with a sigh.

"Get off me!" She suddenly wish she had a weapons stash in her bathroom. A bright red stain was creeping across her cheeks and she tried to push him away.

"I like it here," he said and braced his arms on either side of her head, looking down at her almost nose to nose. "It's a very interesting position."

"I don't care what you think you perverted old man," she hissed. "What the hell are you doing in my bathroom!?" Tsuki tried her best not to think about the way his body curved over her own or the fact that he smelled faintly of mint, instead of the usual spicy, biting cologne other men wore.

"Ninja," he shrugged. "I was coming to pick you up. Date." His statement was matter of fact but his voice was soft and Tsuki could feel it vibrate in his chest and sink into her, resonating around her body in a most uncomfortably pleasant way. Shaking herself mentally she glared up at him.

"I'm not your date, it's way to early and you broke into my apartment!"

"You're shouting again," he said. Inwardly he couldn't help but want to tease her, it pulled away layers of the self-conscious shell she'd built around herself.

"I can shout," she said. "I don't share a bathroom anymore."

She pulled back and tried to punch him in the stomach but only succeeded in opening the skin on her knuckles with a series of explicit curses. Kakashi was suddenly very glad he'd never found himself in such a position with a kunoichi like Sakura as Tsuki held her hand to her chest with a small whimper. Taking pity on her he stood up, allowing her to wrap the towel around herself and scramble to her feet. They both looked at the door to her room and he took a step towards it when she said, "Stop." Looking over he saw her pointing to the toilet.

"Sit, stay." Her voice was firm. He tilted his head to one side and didn't move but she glowered at him so dangerously he finally plopped down with a soft sigh. She clutched the towel tightly and stormed out, slamming the door in her wake. He could hear her tossing things around the bedroom, every so often a curse punctuated the bangs and he briefly considered opening the door until a particularly loud crash made him realize he was probably safer in the bathroom. Finally she opened the door again; a pair of dark blue jeans and a white lace trimmed tank top replacing the towel. Her right hand was still bleeding sluggishly.

"You should probably bandage that," he pointed out.

"Get stuffed and get out of my apartment."

"You know we have to be at the wedding in twenty minutes."

"No, _we_ don't. It's in an hour and a half," she rolled her eyes. "They told you an early time to make sure you'd actually get there."

"Oh."

There were several moments of awkward silence and just as Tsuki was about to snap at him again he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Want to go for breakfast?"

She gaped at him and clenched her fists, wincing as her knuckles protested.

"Look. I'm not some stupid girl who is looking for a one night stand, nor am I looking for some stalker to repeatedly try to knock my feet out from under me in weird and illegal ways," she started. "I'm not going to fall right into your pace just because you bully me into it so will you please please PLEASE go find someone else to be creepy with?" She was breathing heavily and close to tears, having used up most of her energy in her anger.

Kakashi pointed to her hand. "I'll help you wrap.."

"OUT!" Tsuki moved out of the doorway and pointed out of her apartment. "Get out."

He strolled over to the door and stood facing her, taking in her clear, stubborn gaze and, to his private delight, the water that was dripping from her hair and soaking into the white top, revealing the color and pattern of her undergarments.

_'Blue hearts, lace and puppies...'_ He made a mental note and wondered why this uptight, professional woman chose such cute, innocent underclothes. He also wondered if her panties matched and his eyes strayed down her body.

Tsuki felt her face flush as he quite obviously looked her over but only narrowed her eyes at him grabbed his arm and towed him to the door in response.

"The last time I checked being a ninja does not entitle you to break in and harass people whenever you want," she snapped, opening the door and pushing him out. "Good bye." She slammed the door before he got a chance to turn around and locked it with a snap.

Kakashi felt like beating his head against a wall until he forgot everything that had happened since the day he'd caught Tsuki on the stairs in the Hokage's tower. It felt like all he'd been doing since that day was try to catch her off guard and tease her to satisfy his own twisted, perverted needs or think about teasing her...or taking her clothes off. He sighed and rubbed his uncovered eye. He kept telling himself that all he wanted was to convince her to sleep with him even though it was terribly sleazy, somehow that seemed less damaging then the tiny voice in his mind that told him he was kidding himself. The tiny voice that consistently used that most heinous four letter word. Suddenly realizing that he was left with nothing to do for an hour he perked up and looked around. He'd just been walking since he'd left the apartment and had somehow ended up back in front of the building. It was eerie and he felt a nervous shiver pass down his spine but against his better judgment and to the delight of the small voice in the back of his mind he sat down on a low wall and decided to wait it out.

Inside the apartment Tsuki had noticed the condition of her shirt and proceeded to wail loudly which seemed to ease the tension headache that was slowly unfolding. She spent the next hour haphazardly alternating between getting ready for the wedding and throwing things around her room, trying to calm the immense frustration she felt sitting in her chest. Finally, after she'd changed, done her hair and make-up and destroyed much of the organization in her room she decided to head for the estate. With a calming exhale and a final check of her appearance she trotted out of the room and grabbed the first elevator (sadly with the creepy husband of the family down the hall). Exiting the building she passed Kakashi without as much as a glance.

"Hey, that's a bit hurtful you know." He stood up at followed behind her making sure to keep well out of arms reach just in case she'd stashed a weapon in her dress. Thinking of her dress Kakashi had to give a secret thanks to Sakura for not holding to the 'ugly bridesmaid dress' tradition. The light yellow fabric clung to her body loosely enough to waft a bit in the breeze but did not leave much to the imagination. He admired the way it accentuated her curves, particularly what he could see from behind.

"Hatake-san," Tsuki said, not turning around. "Out of respect for your position in the village and your relationship with my boss I'm not going to make a scene out of this and I'm not going to complain or say anything to you at the wedding. But just so you know, if you ever break into my apartment again I will find some way to deprive you of your favourite appendage."

Kakashi spent the rest of the brisk walk to the estate imagining some very vivid ways for her to accomplish that task.


End file.
